Mount Douglas Park 4

Here's another kind of mushroom I encountered on my recent visit to Mount Douglas Park. These ones appear to be a favorite meal for slugs.

Mount Douglas Park 3

Well, forest trails and autumn leaves are fine but what I really went out to Mount Douglas Park for was to see if any mushrooms were up yet. Above is the first one I saw. We've had a couple of days of rain lately so I expect that next time I'm out in the forest I'll see a good selection of these autumn delights.

Mount Douglas Park 2

Mount Douglas Park has a splendid grove of enormous Bigleaf Maple trees. At this time of year they provide this perfect autumn carpet.

Canada Day on The Gorge

Every year Canada Day is celebrated here on the Inner Harbour with extensive ceremonies and entertainment, and, huge crowds. So, for the last couple of years I've been enjoying Canada Day on the Gorge, a much smaller and more intimate gathering of locals more like a block party than anything else. There's lots of food and drink - strawberry tea at the Gorge Canoe Club for only $3 - and lots of other food purveyors including kids selling lemonade. About half the people strolling around wear something red since thanks to our flag it has become our national color. And there's music - One Man Band Dave Harris was entertaining a large crowd, the Karpes Family Band were producing some great jug band style music and other musicians were performing as well. Lots of classy vintage cars and cotton candy made from Maple Syrup - bet you wish you were here. There's canoe rides and bouncy castles and everyone relaxes and has a good time. I did, and I thank the kids and others who allowed me to take their photos.

Below is a 20 second video of two small boys dancing to some Dave Harris Dixieland.

Durrance Lake

Yesterday's photo of the Foxglove flowers was taken near the shore of Durrance Lake, about a half hour's drive from the City of Victoria. Above is a photo of the lake itself. Just before we left, one of the local residents swooped down and perched overlooking the lake.

Foxglove

In the deep forest surrounding nearby Durrance Lake in Saanich this Foxglove seemed to glow almost with a light of its own.

Spring in the Woods

The meadows of Fawn Lilies in Beacon Hill Park are lovely but those on the wooded slopes of Mount Douglas Park are even more special.

Mount Douglas Park

Another bright, sunny day today took me up to the summit of Mount Douglas where I enjoyed the above view looking in an easterly direction.

Wood Duck

It's hard to believe such a gorgeously exotic bird actually lives here naturally, but they do. This photo of a Wood Duck was taken here in Victoria in 2012.

July Choices!

As I wrote last week, "Every year I put together a calendar for friends and family, of photos I have published on this blog for the last year or so. However, it's always difficult to make decisions about which photos to use. I am hoping visitors to this blog will help out. Every day for the next few weeks I will publish two or three photos from a given month and hope that comments and choices made by visitors will help me make a final decision which photos to use in this year's calendar. As an incentive, I will offer an online downloadable/printable file of the calendar to anyone who helps me make a choice."

Thanks to everyone who has given me their opinions so far, and it really helps when you give reasons for your preference.

Below are my favorite July 2016 photos. There are three to choose from today. July is a good time to get out and enjoy the outdoors and these photos reflect the fact that Victoria is surrounded by lots of parks and forest land. The top two photos were taken in July 2016. The bottom photo was taken in July 2010. Which one do you prefer?

Backyard Boss (This bird was at the top of the pecking order in out backyard flock this year.)

Summertime in Saanich (Fern took this lovely photo)

Sooke Potholes (The Sooke Potholes are a favorite spot Victorians go to on hot summer days.)

Mount Douglas Mushrooms

Friday Fungi

Here's another fungus from Mount Douglas Park. I have been unable to identify this so far but my personal name for it is the Bean Sprout Fungus because it looks a little like those bean sprouts we find in Chinese cookery.

Lichen 2

Every time I reach the summit of Bear Hill I enjoy the wonderfully gnarled limbs of this large Garry Oak. It's like an enormous Bonsai. This oak and those pictured yesterday seem to think it's spring - they've got young green leaves sprouting from the ends of their branches. Perhaps this is a result of climate change.

Lichens

As well as being a good season for mosses this time of year is great for lichens too. Some of the trees in Bear Hill Park were so festooned with lichen they reminded me of the Florida Everglades.

Moss 2

This is a different kind of moss from that posted yesterday but it is also very common though more likely to be found on fallen trees as it is pictured here.

Moss 1

This is a great time of the year for mushrooms but it also seems to be the best time of the year for mosses and lichens. The moss pictured here seems to be particularly fond of Garry Oak tree bark as a good place to grow. I took this photo when Fern and I took a weekend walk up Bear Hill Regional Park in Saanich.

Bear Hill

Populations

Although mushrooming in the forest is generally very peaceful, there are surprises. I was despairing yesterday of seeing any really large mushrooms when I suddenly spotted the one pictured above. It was all by itself and I have never seen another like it. Whereas, when I stumbled on those pictured below it was like discovering a small city. Their camouflage coloring matches the ground cover so perfectly I nearly stepped right in the middle of them before I realized what they were.

Fungi

I'm just back from Mount Douglas Park and here's some of the mushrooms I encountered. The season is well underway now and I counted about 10 different kinds in a short walk.

Killarney Lake Mushrooms 2

Here are more mushrooms from our Killarney Lake excursion last week.